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they called in as many persons as possible to see him, that, if any one of them had the like distemper, he might say what was fit for his cure.-Shuckford. Con. 9. 367.

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Surgery was much the oldest branch of physick which they practised. Esculapius was followed by a dog and a she-goat. The dog was taught to lick all ulcerated wounds, and the goat's milk was given for all diseases of the stomach and lungs.-Temple,i.180. The Chinese were so ignorant of geography, that their Literati seeing a map of the world in the hands of the Jesuits, took one of the two hemispheres which contained Europe, Asia, and Africa, for the empire of China; and in mechanics it was the same, for one mistook a watch for a living creature.-Jesuits' Travels, II. 304;

Boyle, Final Causes, 230.

The Chinese can never acquire a knowledge of other languages, because they have no idea of method in the construction of their own, having no alphabet.

Divine honour and deification were formerly paid to men who invented improvements in agriculture, arts, &c. such as Jupiter, Bacchus, Minerva, Ceres. But there is not a modern ploughboy who would not have become a god, with his present skill in busbandry. Had the mystery of Printing been invented in antient times, Guttenberg of Mentz might have been a god of bigher esteem in Germany than Mercury or Jupiter-Worth. Ép. 169. This cannot be thought improbable, since his assistant Fust, or Faust, attained the title of Conjuror for it, in so late times and such a place as Paris.-Bp. Law.

If the antients could come back to the world, and see and read modern Sciences as we read of theirs, they would suppose themselves transplanted into some planet appointed for their progressive improvement, before they could be adruitted into Heaven.

SAVOISI AND THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS.

The university of Paris is certainly an admirable institution; but, like most privileged corporations, it attaches more importance to the extension of its

rights than to the maintenance of salutary and impartial discipline. The Rue Pavée Saint Antoine was once the theatre of an event, which, had it occurred in our times, would have been immediately repressed, without being attended by any deplorable excess. Piganiol thus relates the principal circumstances of a curious contest, which was kept up with animosity for upwards of a century.

"On the 14th of July, 1408, as the procession of students was passing thro' the Rue du Roi de Sicile, on its way to the Church of Sainte Catharine, Duval des Ecoliers, one of the servants of Charles Savoisi, who had been watering his horse, made it gallop across the street, through the procession, by which one of the students was covered with mud. The student struck the servant who called the rest of his master's domestics to his aid. They pursued the students to the door of the Church of Sainte Catharine, where one of the servants shot several arrows into the Church, one of which flew to the grand altar, during the performance of mass. The University pursued Savoisi rigorously for this insult; and by a decree of the council of state, at which the king presided with the princes of the blood, it was ordained that his house should be demolished; and he was condemned to pay 1500 livres to the wounded, and 1000 livres to the university. Three of Savoisi's servants were condemned to perform penance, stript to their shirts, with torches in their hands, before the churches of Sainte Genevieve, Sainte Catharine, and Saint Severin; after which they were whipped at the cross-roads of Paris, and banished for three years."

Two years afterwards the king permitted Savoisi to rebuild his house; but the University obstinately opposed this act of royal clemency. It was not until twelve years had elapsed, that they suffered Savoisi to rebuild his house on the express condition, that the sentence pronounced on him should be engraven on a stone, and placed above the

Rene, Duke of Anjou, being called to the throne of Sicily, gave his name to the street in which he lived before he was invested with the Neapolitan crown. Under the reign of this prince, the horrible massacre of the Sicilian Vespers took place.

door.

The inscription was made, but the stone was fixed up against a wall in the garden. (French Journal.)

THE GEORGIUM SIDUS.

Since the decease of his late venerable Majesty, George the Third, coincidences have been sought after with avidity. That the longest reigns in the annals of Britain have been Henry the IIId, Edward the IIId, and George the Ild, is a circumstance recommended to the notice of the rising genera tion. But there is a coincidence which seems not to have been recognised, with which the juvenile astronomer will be gratified. In the year 1781, Dr. Herschell, of Slough near WINDSOR, discovered a New Planet, which he denominated THE GEORGIUM SIDUS, out of compliment to his Majesty, who had patronized him with his accustomed liberality. Now it is somewhat remarkable, that as THE GEORGIUM SIDUS is eightythree years creeping through its orbit, the age of HIS MAJESTY nearly corresponded with the long period in which the progress of this planet around the sun is completed! With many individuals, the revolution of an assigned period is a matter of serious consideration. Thus the Cycles of the Sun and of the Moon are deemed interesting portions of chronology; but to the nearly approaching coincidence of his late Majesty's life with the single revolution of THE GEORGIUM SIDUS no importance is attached. The notice of it may, however, afford an innocent gratifica

tion.

NEW MECHANICAL INVENTION.

To WILLIAM GOOD, of Bridport, Shipbuilder; for an Improvement in the Art of tanning Hides and Skins, and Barking and Colouring Nets, Sails, and other Articles, by the application of certain Materials hitherto unused for that Purpose.

The improvement which Mr. Good has effected in the art of tanning, is by rendering the process more economical. He has discovered that the trunk, roots, limbs, branches, and leaves of the oak, whether tree, pol

lard, coppice, or underwood, possess tanning properties, in a sufficient quantity to be employed with advantage in that business, which properties may be best extracted therefrom, by reducing such of the above articles as aré large enough for sawing to sawdust, or by chopping the same and the articles of less size into small pieces; and he accordingly claims the exclusive right of using such articles for the aforesaid purpose.

ing is used as a weak ooze, and as the first process in tanning such skins after they come from the beam, and afterwards the decoction first produced in the manner in which tanners are in the habit of using oak-bark.

To tan hides, take one hundred weight of the limbs or branches, three quarters of an hundred weight of oak saw dust (the sooner the latter is used after being made the better), and one-quarter of a hundred weight of the root, and boil in eighty gallons of water Draw off the decoction, and put aside for till reduced to from fifty to sixty gallons. use as will be mentioned. To the materials left in the copper add sixty gallons of water, and again boil till reduced to from thirty to thirty-five gallons. The liquor produced by such second boiling is employed in the first stage of tanning such hides after they coction first produced is employed. The come from the beam, and afterwards the deskins and hides having undergone the beforementioned process, and as much oak-bark or tar-liquor, or both, to the respective decocThe quantity of each will vary according to tions as is necessary to complete the tanning. the strength of such decoctions which strength will depend on the age and size of the tree, and other circumstances too evident to require their being particularized.

The method which was used for barking or colouring of nets, sails, or other articles, of oak branches, and one hundred weight of is as follows:---he puts one hundred weight spent bark from any tannery, into one hundred gallons of water, and so in proportion for a greater or less quantity; and after boiling the same till it be reduced to about eighty gallons, he takes the branches and convenient instrument, and then immerges spent bark from the copper by means of any as many nets, sails, or other articles, as the per as the liquor will admit of, taking care case may be, into the liquor left in the copthat the said nets, sails, or other articles, be completely covered with the said liquor. He hours, then removes the fire, and suffers the boils the whole together for about three whole to get cool together, after which he removes the nets, sails, or other articles, from the furnace, and hangs them up to dry.

IRON BOAT.

A passage boat of malleable iron now plies on the Forth and Clyde Canal. It is called The Vulcan, and succeeds to admiration. The length is 63 feet; beam, 13 feet; depth, 5 feet; draught of water when launched, 22 inches abaft, and 19 inches forwardwhen fitted with cabins, &c. 27 and 25 inches-when laden with 200 passengers and their baggage, under 48 inches, on an even keel. The weight

The mode of extracting such tanning properties and of using the same is as follows: To tan calf or other thin skins, put 100 lb. of the limbs or branches chopped as above-mentioned into a copper, containing about sixty gallons of water, and boil till the water be reduced to from thirty-five to forty gallons; draw off the decoction so produced, and which is to be used as hereafter stated. Add to the same limbs or branches forty gallons of water, and again boil the same till the wa- IMPROVED METHOD OF FEEDING PIGS. ter be reduced to about twenty-five gallons. We understand that a pig belonging to The liquor thus produced by the second boil- Mr. Fisher, of Scrooby Inn, gaiend by feed

of iron employed was twelve tons, 11 cwt, which is less than a wooden vessel of the same dimensions. The iron is of the kind called Scrap.

ing on Indian corn, in the course of six weeks and 3 days, the enormous weight of fifteen stone. The pigs in the vicinity of Naples are so fat as to be able to move with difficulty; and several persons have been curious to learn in what manner this desideratum was obtained. They were informed that the pigs were always fed in the first instance with indian corn, and then generally permitted to shift for themselves. The method adopted by the Neapolitans to ascertain when the animal is ripe for the knife, is as extraordinary as it is cruel. An iron probe is plunged into the side of the animal, and when the point touches the muscular fibre, it is indicated by the expression of pain. The above fact is here corroborated, and the agriculturist may advantageously avail himself of the discovery.

BOOTS WITHOUT SEAMS.

A patent has lately been obtained for the manufacture of boots without seams. For this purpose, the patentee proposes that the thigh of the beast should be flayed without cutting open, and afterwards dressed and curried upon blocks, The boot top upon the same principle is to be made of the shoulder, prepared in like manner.

INDIAN CURE FOR THE EAR ACHE.

Take a piece of the lean of mutton, about the size of a large walnut, put it into the fire and burn it out for some time till it becomes

reduced almost to a cinder; then put it into a piece of clean rag, and squeeze it until dropped into the ear as hot as the patient some moisture is expressed, which must be can bear it. This has been tried in a family at Madras, in more than one instance, and gave immediate relief, after laudanum and other medicines had been ineffectually applied.

CURIOUS EXPERIMENT.

If a blacksmith strike his anvil with a hammer, action and re-action are equal, the anvil striking the hammer as forcibly as the hammer strikes the anvil. If the anvil be large enough, a man may place it on his breast and suffer another person to strike it with all his force without sustaining any injury, because the vis inertia in the anvil will resist the force of the blow, but if the anvil be too small, the blow will be fatal.

INSTANTANEOUS LIGHT.

mingling two parts of the oxymuriate of poi-
Matches for this purpose are prepared by
ash and one of sulphur, which, by means of
a little gum, is attached to a common sulphur
match. This match, on being dipped into,
or rather slightly wet with, oil of vitriol im-
should be pulverised separately; if rubbed
mediately catches fire. The sulphur and salt
explosive mixture.
together in a mortar, they form a dangerous

POETRY.

PARAPHRASE

From the Monthly Magazine, Ap. 1,1820.

ORIENTAL

SUODA.

ON AN
POEM, BY

[This Poet has always been considered as the POPE of Hindostanee poetry, in which language his works are all composed; and he is much admired like our Pope, for the harmony of the versification and the keenness of his satirical pieces. He flourished about the year 1780, at Luknow, in the administration of Mr. Hastings, and at the Courts of Shoojaul Duola and Asufood Duola, by both of whom he was patronised. He is, in short, the Prince of Hindostanee poets, and universally admired as such; while WULEE is equally esteemed, the father of their poetical Compositions, like our Chaucer.]

W Can various creeds and tenets mean,

THAT else, I oft times pensive ween,

Whence flow the ardent pray'r,
But that of Mooslim, Pagan, Jew,
Must, as the Christian's, each be true;
For God is every where.

Thus in one circle we divine,
The radii from its bounding line
Concentric still unite ;

So from the wide extended round
Of all religions, will be found
One only Lord of light.

Yon solar orb in every ray
Shines forth the glorious god of day,
Oft with refracted beam ;
Or can they quench his awful fire ?
On shifting clouds does he retire?
Speak, sages! do I dream?

With broken heart and wounded soul,
I

wandering search from pole to pole,
Still not one doctor can I find,
For balm to heal my woes;
Like death to cure my tortur'd mind,
O come and bring repose!
Sweet bird of eve, thy plaintive note
Could never drown my louder throat,
Did not silence my moans and sighs,
If rev'rence due to love,
And bid me turn these streaming eyes,
To the great God above.
Before whose dreadful sword, this neck
Is like the cobweb's finest wreck,
That floats upon the air;
Look, angels! tell me ay or nay,
Ye surely can the truth display,
And will the whole declare.

That providence is just I own,
Though fortune sternly on me frown;
The fault perhaps is mine:

Come, cherubs! teach the soothing plan
Of calm content to wayward mau,
And let me not repine.

Once I the pilgrim Suoda spied,
And then in earnest to him cried,
"Hast thou no fix'd retreat?"

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EATHERY showers from Winter's throne,

Trembling thro' the spheres of light, Till lapp'd by Earth from zone to zone To make her bosom white;

On whom the moon in silence dwells

While passing night's lone dream,
And whom she loves,---for this she tells
By the smile of her pure beam.
The gentlest form of Winter's power,
Minstrel'd from the polar star,
Resting on tree and blade and flower
Lise one that comes from far;
On whom the frosty wind displays
The beauty of his breath,

And whom he loves,---for he delays
To preserve that form from death.

A SUNDAY IN AUTUMN.

WEET is the Autumnal day,
The Sabbath of the year.

When the sun sheds a soft and farewell ray,
And journeys slowly on his silent way,
And wintry storms are near.
Sweet is the Autumnal rose

That lingers late in bloom;

And while the north wind on his bosom blows, Upon the chill and misty air bestows

A cherishing perfume.

Sweet is life's setting ray,

While Hope stands smiling near;

When the soul muses on the future day, And through the clouds that shade her homeward way,

Haven's azure skies appear.

INTELLIGENCE.

A work called Winter Nights, by NATHAN DRAKE, M. D. author of Literary Hours, &c. &c. will appear in April.

The personal History of George the Third, undertaken with the assistance of persons officially connected with the late King; and dedicated, by permission to his present Majesty, by EDWARD HAWKE LOCKER, Esq. F. R. S. will soon appear, handsomely printed, with portraits, fac-similes, &c. in 4to.

Mr. JAMES GREY JACKSON, late British Consul at Santa Cruz, South Barbary, and resident merchant upwards of sixteen years in various parts of the empire of Marocco, professor of Arabic, and author of an account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Susa, Tafilet, Timbuctoo, &c. has in the press, and will publish next month, in one volume 8vo. an Account of Timbuctoo and Housa, territories in the interior of Africa, by EL HAGE ABD SALAM SHABEENIE, a native of Marocco, who personally visited and resided as a merchant in those interesting countries, with notes, critical and explanatory. To which will be added, Letters descriptive of several Journeys through West and South Barbary, and across the Mountains of Altas.

The Village of Mariendorft,a Romance,by Miss ANNA MARIA PORTER, is in the press. In a few days will appear, Tales of the Priory, 3 vols. 12mo, by Mrs. HOFLAND.

The Life of the Right Honourable R. B. Sheridan, by THOMAS MOORE, Esq. with a portrait, is in progress; as well as the Works of the same writer,now first collected, &c.

The New Cyclopædia; or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature, by ABRAHAM REES, D. D. F. A. S. L. S. &c. will be completed in one more part, making seventy-eight, which will be published in å few weeks.

Mr. LEIGH HUNT, author of Rimini, will soon publish a Translation of Amyntas, a Tale of Woods, from the Italian of Torqua to Tasso. This work will be embellished with a highly-finished Portrait of Tasso.

The Rev. ALEX. STEWART, author of the Lives of Blair, and Robertson, bas in the press a History of Great Britain, from the Accession of George II. till his death.

Dr. WEATHERHEAD, Author of a Treatise on the Diagnosis of Erysipelas, has just published a Treatise on infantile and adult Rickets; with Remarks on Nursing, for the consideration of Mothers, as connected with this disease, together with a plate and des cription of an improved reclining couch for the use of the distorted.

A letter from Captain De Peyster, on a voyage from Valparaiso to Calcutta, states: ---On the evening of the 17th of May, 1819, one of the people discovered a large fire; that they hove-to until daylight, when another small low island appeared five miles under our lee; we passed it close, it appeared clothed with cocoa-nut trees, and doubtless. inhabited, and has never before been noticed.

To the former we gave the name of Ellice; and to the latter the officers and passengers gave the name of De Peyster's Islands. Ellice's Group lies in long. 180. 54. W. lat. 8. 29. S.; De Peyster's Islands, 181. 43. W. lat. 8. 5. S.

The number of letters of all descriptions delivered daily by the post, in Paris, is, on an average, 32,000; and of journals 1800; while in London, the letters are 133,000; and the journals 26,000; making, in the former capital, one letter among seventy-two persons, and one journal among three hundred and eighty-eight; and in the latter, one letter among nine persons, and one journal among forty-three.

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...Dux fœmina facti.-Ovid.

A Fair One foremost in the glorious deed.

TH HAT the fairer portion of creation is excluded from the laborious and the honourable duties of society, has long furnished a topic of lamentation to its more restless and ambitious members. Their rights are said to be usurped, their interests are postponed or neglected. They are shut out from the different professions which support and plague civilized life; and their genius languishes in inactivity, or is wasted upon laborious trifles. But the language of these Bluestockings only proves, that they mistake the sphere of their rights, that they are ignorant of the extent of their power, and unacquainted with the nature of their real interests. Exclusion from servile labours should not be re'puted a disgrace, but an honourable ele. vation above mean and mercenary employments. What opinion would be formed of the wisdom of the landed proprietary, or the merchant, who should complain of their exemption from the husbandman's toils and the seaman's dangers, while Plenty emptied her abundant horn into the lap of the one,and the four winds of heaven wafted the luxurious tribute of every climate to the repositories of the other? Woman is the free and generous Spartan, who stimulates, di2C ATHENEUM VOL. 7.

It

rects, and enjoys the labours of her he
lot, man. The influence of the sex
controls every member of society, and
pervades every department of life.
is the attractive principle of the social
and moral world;-no mass is too
large to refuse obedience to its dictates,
no particle so minute as to escape its
control. The different professions of
society refer to it their being, or ap-
proach it with their homage. Science
has flourished under its fostering protec-
tion, while literature traces to this nu-
tritious source its luxurious sweets and
eternal verdure-immaterial substances
are not sufficiently subtle to evade its
grasp.

Religion, which defines the relations and communion of souls with the Great Spirit, has too often worshipped at the shrine of this fair idol. Solomon was not the only

Uxorious king, whose heart, tho' large,
Beguiled by fair idolatresses, fell
To idols foul."

The sex, it is true, is exempt from the responsibility of military command, and the perils of military service. They are unexposed to the rude conflict of political opposition, and the more formidable effects of rival intrigue. But their influence is felt in the camp, and the cabinet is controlled by their dic

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